What a beautiful, and somewhat chilly, Saturday afternoon at Smokey Glen. A special thank you to Meg Press and her team of volunteers for organizing such a wonderful event! It was such a delight to see so many families gather together for good food, good fun, and good friendship. With several alumni families, faculty and staff, and many of our new (not-so-new anymore now that we have been in school for 6 weeks) families jointly celebrating the community of The Harbor School, it confirmed how important it is to make time in our busy schedules for just that – celebrating our community.

This month and next, I will have attended six potluck dinners at various homes. Thank you, by the way, to our six host families: the McCarthys, the Bloombergs, the Dillons, the Sensenbrenners, the Silversteins, and the Golds for opening up their homes to us! It is a busy two months, for sure, but the teachers and I thoroughly enjoy the evenings to simply socialize and get to know you better outside of the school setting. I leave each dinner not only full of delicious food, but full of joy to see our families connecting and enjoying each others’ company. At a recent potluck, I spent much of the evening discussing our families’ histories with a dad – something I would never have time to do during the school day.

Our children spend so many of their waking hours together – it is so nice for the adults to get some time together, too. This period of development for our children, early childhood, is not only instrumental in their friendship building, but also valuable to parents. Who better to vent to about potty training, picky eating, sibling rivalry, bedtime battles, etc. than to others who are experiencing the same challenges!